If Not For The Calico Cat

by Mary Blount Christian, Sebastià Serra Bonilla (Illustrator)

The crew of The Jade Lotus watches other ships disappear from sight, sure that they have slipped over the edge of the world. To save themselves from the same fate, their cabin boy, Hiro, entices a calico cat aboard.

But the calico cat isn’t happy; she misses her warm spot on the wharf. Roaming the ship, she runs through the flour barrel, walks over the captain’s maps, causes havoc wherever she goes. Meanwhile, a mighty storm brews. Did this calico cat really bring the sailors good luck?

With a charming text and marvelously enchanting illustrations, If Not for the Calico Cat reaches a delightful—and unexpected—conclusion.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Japan, Adventure

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 19, 2007

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Japanese traders load their boat full of goods to set sail, but the voyage needs to calico cat for luck. Lots of accidents and unintentional messes happen on this voyage - is this cat as lucky as superstition would think? The illustrations are my favorite part. The story itself is a little overlong to get to the simple punchline at the end. Enjoyable, but not a standout. Could be a good addition to programs on Asia or Japan (especially from a sea/trade/exploring POV), but not strong enough to really be a 'headliner' book for a unit, I think.

[Lilian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grabbed this for the kids from the library because my daughter loves cats but was genuinely unimpressed. The story seemed to drag on for not much purposes at the end.

Everyone things the cat is good luck but nothing goes right and at the end the cat is happy to be back on land.
Meh.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book. The story is fun and the Sebastia Serra illustrations are WONDERFUL!

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of some superstitious sailors back in the time when it was thought the world was much smaller and square, causing ships to just fall off the corner of the world. For some reason the sailors believed a calico cat on board would bring good fortune and prevent any such dangers. The cat in this story proved them wrong. An interesting read, with colorful cute illustrations; the ending wasn't the best but it was still a fun read to share with my daughter.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was cute! Chinese sailors believe that a calico cat on board a ship brings good luck. This story tells about what really happens! I enjoyed the illustrations, especially the cross-sections of the insides of the ship. I also liked the author's style of writing and description. I recommend this for all cat lovers!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining tale about the superstitious nature of sailors and their belief in a calico cat bringing good luck to a ship's voyage. The story is a bit silly and seems to mix Japanese and Chinese culture a bit, but it's certainly a fun story to read aloud. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish. We enjoyed listening to our youngest read this book to us.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

On one side of the world we had Columbus, but the other side had its explorers too. Sailors have many superstitions, and in this case it is that a calico cat will bring good fortune, it seems they chose the wrong cat though. This one causes nothing but unintentional trouble, because it wants to find a good place to rest. The illustrations are comical, and keep the story from becoming too serious.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be an odd story about a ship setting sail, but only once a calico cat was aboard for good luck. Even with said cat, the ship ends up wrecked, but the crew rescued.

Quirky illustrations.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story with enchanting illustrations!

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This calico cat may have been brought onboard to provide good luck, but the cat had other ideas...

[Mil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art relates well to the story. The story is nicely told. Insight into another culture, and their superstitions.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are calico cats helpful o a ship? Reading this will let you know if this particular cat was helpful ... or not.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story to educate young readers about the cultural superstitions of focused around calico cats sailing aboard ships to foster good luck.

[Kim Tyo-Dickerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations keep the story moving along.